Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Guest: Seth Harp
Topic: Drug Trafficking in the U.S. Military – "The Fort Bragg Cartel"
Date: September 10, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Armchair Expert features investigative journalist, Iraq War veteran, and former attorney Seth Harp, diving into his astonishing research about drug trafficking, corruption, and murder within U.S. military special forces, as revealed in his book The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces. Dax, Monica, and Seth unpack the hidden world of elite military operations, their unique culture, and systemic issues that have enabled crime to flourish at one of America’s most important military installations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Seth Harp’s Background & Path to Journalism

• Grew up in Austin, Texas; attended UT Austin (08:48–09:05)
• Served in the Army Reserves; deployed to Iraq as a student, despite opposing the war (09:10–10:15)
• Practiced law for five years, paid off loans, then went to grad school for journalism (12:08–12:28)
• Lifelong desire to be a writer, balanced with practical career choices (12:28–12:38)

Quote: “I really wanted to be a writer my whole life. And not coming from an immensely affluent background, I knew I would have to find a way to support myself. That’s why it was a bit circuitous.” – Seth (12:28)

2. Fort Bragg & Special Operations Structure

• Fort Bragg is the Army’s largest base, center for Special Forces (Green Berets) and JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) (13:01–13:23)
• JSOC: An elite, clandestine tier above well-known units like Green Berets and Navy SEALs (16:00–18:24)
• Delta Force: the Army’s most elite, secret unit (16:00–16:32)

Quote: “Most people don’t know that JSOC even exists… this additional tier of the military that’s dedicated exclusively to covert operations. So things that the US Government actually denies responsibility for.” – Seth (18:02)

• Discussion of the blurry oversight between CIA and military covert activity, and how post-Watergate reforms limited CIA, leading to expanded military covert action capacity (19:03–19:56)

3. The Culture and Corruption of Elite Forces

• Dax and Seth discuss their experiences with Special Forces: smart, calm professionals, but some are adrenaline junkies and risk-takers (04:08–06:24)
• The culture prizes achievement, with some members moving to the "dark side" when operations become criminal (18:26–24:03)

Quote: “A lot of them are adrenaline junkies and need stimulation… they’re very competitive with one another, especially when it comes to physical stuff.” – Seth (06:15)

• Loose formal oversight, vast sums of untraceable operation cash, access to drugs, and a culture that sometimes protects its own (36:17–40:32)

Quote: “Your husband comes back from a deployment and he’s got several thousand dollars taped to his body when he gets off the plane. Just skimmed off the top of the op fund.” – Seth (36:26)

4. Unraveling the Fort Bragg Cartel

• 2020 double homicide of two Special Operations soldiers—one a Delta Force operator—at Fort Bragg draws Seth’s investigation (24:03–25:33)
• “109 soldiers at Fort Bragg died in two years [2020–2021]. Only four overseas in combat; all others suicides, overdoses, murders on or near base.” – (28:41–29:36)

Quote: “Fort Hood was treated as a catastrophic meltdown… but actually, the reaction to stuff at Fort Bragg was quite different… to my knowledge, I was the only reporter who was working on this.” – Seth (28:03)

• Patterns of officials routinely concealing deaths and criminal activity within the ranks (29:26–30:24)
• Many deaths due to suicide and overdoses; speculation around trauma, CTE, physical toll on bodies, pervasive party/drug culture (29:36–30:36)

5. Drug Trafficking Circuit: From Fort Bragg to Mexican Cartels

• The role of supply officers in diverting weapons and drugs onto the black market, selling even military-grade ordnance (35:10–40:32)
• Direct connections between Special Forces personnel and Mexican cartel remnants, specifically Los Zetas—a cartel originally formed from Mexican special forces trained by the US (40:32–42:22)

Quote: “They [Los Zetas] realized, oh, we’re the baddest gunslingers in all of Mexico… Maybe we should just be calling the shots in this whole drug game, which is exactly what they went on to do.” – Seth (41:05)

• A North Carolina DEA taskforce officer, Freddie Wayne Huff, after being wronged by the system, turns to working with cartel contacts and military insiders for enormous drug shipments (43:08–48:09)
• Fort Bragg described as a massive cocaine market, with Dumas (supply officer) orchestrating distribution among active-duty personnel (48:12–49:16)

Quote: “It could have conceivably have been thousands or tons of cocaine. The estimates… might have been three tons of coke.” – Seth (48:09)

6. Individual Downfalls: Billy Levine and Mark Leshiker

• Profiles two key Special Forces soldiers: Levine (Delta) and Leshiker (wannabe Delta, Green Beret). Both deep into drug use and criminality (51:03–54:06)
• Drug benders, family incidents, and tragic culmination when, during a drug-fueled dispute, Levine shoots and kills Leshiker in front of their children (54:37–56:39)

Quote: “Operator on Delta Force. Smoking crack every day. Every day. And keeping it together. I mean, the constitution you have to admire…” – Dax (54:06)

• Levine, despite being arrested multiple times and removed from Delta only after his fourth arrest, was shielded repeatedly by the system (62:51–64:28)
• Drug tests, evidence, and charges were routinely skirted or ignored for elite operators (57:59–58:13)

Quote: “No one should be above the law... But in Fort Bragg… Special forces soldiers, especially JSOC operators, are effectively above the law.” – Seth (64:51–64:54)

7. “Scapegoating” in the Investigation

• The double murder of Levine and Dumas is ultimately pinned on a young black man from two counties over—with no apparent ties to military or drugs. Seth and sources question if he could possibly be responsible, or if this is a convenient scapegoat for a much larger criminal web (65:14–66:31)

8. U.S. Involvement in Global Heroin Trade

• Detailed history of U.S. foreign policy contributing to global heroin trade via Afghanistan—from CIA’s original arming and funding of mujahideen, to “client states” with narco-warlords (67:15–73:00)
• U.S.-backed governments directly profiting from and protecting the heroin trade, while the Taliban (despite their brutality) actually eliminated Afghan heroin production when in control (74:01–74:50)

Quote: “The US-backed client state that we supported for 20 years was the world’s biggest drug cartel.” – Seth (72:32)

• After U.S. withdrawal and Taliban return, Afghanistan’s heroin output plummeted (“It’s all gone now. Yes.” – 74:01)

9. The Human & Institutional Toll

• The cycle of trauma, addiction, impunity, and disposable soldiers; the blurred line between “good” and “bad” actors in Special Forces (80:54–81:07)
• Acknowledgment that most Special Forces members are upright, disciplined, and even “clean-living”—but Harp’s investigation targets the system that fosters the opposite (81:07–81:38)
• Ongoing trial (2026) surrounding the double murder at Fort Bragg; true story likely unresolved, with new revelations still surfacing, including a rumored book by Levine exposing higher-up corruption (82:05–82:50)

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Seth on the scope of unaccounted cash:
  “The largest transfer of cash in the history of the Federal Reserve…hundreds of tons… put on planes and flown into Iraq and all of it went missing. Billions of dollars.” (39:10–39:23)

• On why military crimes don’t attract scrutiny:
  “I could never figure that out... why they got such a pass is a question that always eluded me.” – Seth (28:29–28:34)

• On system impunity for elite soldiers:
  “...effectively above the law. I document case after case. My book, the Double Murder of Billy Levine and Timothy Dumas… but there’s lots of other cases that I talk about.” – Seth (64:54–65:14)

• Dax reflecting on murky morality:
  “I have some belief there are ugly things that need to get done that people don’t really want to know about… I think there have been certain covert operations that were probably incredibly beneficial to the safety of Americans. And I think there’s been a ton of blowback and they’ve gone sideways a bunch.” (20:47–21:27)

Significant Timestamps

• [13:01–14:43] Fort Bragg, Special Forces, and JSOC explained
• [24:03–26:33] The catalyst: uncovering Fort Bragg murders
• [29:26–29:36] The real number of mysterious deaths at Fort Bragg revealed
• [35:10–40:32] Supply line theft, drug use, and trafficking culture
• [41:05–42:22] The origin and boomerang of Los Zetas cartel
• [48:09–49:16] Quantifying drug flows: “could have been thousands or tons of cocaine”
• [54:00–56:00] The drugs, violence, and psychology of Levine and Leshiker
• [62:51–64:54] Levine’s post-murder spiral and institutional protection
• [67:15–74:50] U.S.-Afghan heroin pipeline and policy failures
• [81:07–81:38] Moral duality within Special Forces ranks
• [82:05–82:50] Levine’s book and ongoing risk/exposure for whistleblowers

Notable Quotes – Attributed & Timestamped

• “Most people don’t know that JSOC even exists… this additional tier of the military that’s dedicated exclusively to covert operations. So things that the US Government actually denies responsibility for.” — Seth Harp [18:02]
• “Fort Hood was treated as a catastrophic meltdown… but actually, the reaction to stuff at Fort Bragg was quite different… to my knowledge, I was the only reporter who was working on this.” — Seth Harp [28:03]
• “The largest transfer of cash in the history of the Federal Reserve… hundreds of tons… put on planes and flown into Iraq and all of it went missing. Billions of dollars.” — Seth Harp [39:10]
• “The US-backed client state that we supported for 20 years was the world’s biggest drug cartel.” — Seth Harp [72:32]
• “No one should be above the law… But in Fort Bragg… Special forces soldiers, especially JSOC operators, are effectively above the law.” — Seth Harp [64:54]
• “Operator on Delta Force. Smoking crack every day. Every day. And keeping it together.” — Dax Shepard [54:06]
• “By their own internal lights… they have a sense of ethics that’s consistent and it’s not hypocritical. Like you said, they’re clean living. They’re oftentimes quite religious. But obviously my book focuses not on the good guys.” — Seth Harp [81:07]

Closing Thoughts

Seth Harp’s revelations expose a shadow world of impunity, addiction, and violence within America’s most secretive military community. The Fort Bragg Cartel isn’t just about isolated criminal acts; it’s a sprawling, deeply embedded network enabled by war, secrecy, and a system that struggles to enforce accountability for its most elite warriors. An unmissable investigation for anyone interested in the intersection of military, crime, and power.

Further Listening & Resources

• “The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces” by Seth Harp
• Rolling Stone’s original reporting by Seth Harp
• Previous Armchair Expert episodes on MK Ultra, military trauma, and American covert operations

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